budget priorities statement 2020-21

www.volunteeringtas.org.au

As the peak body for volunteering in Tasmania, Volunteering Tasmania aims to better support the volunteers, volunteer-involving organisations, and the Tasmanian Government as we work together to ensure a vibrant and active volunteer sector for all of us.

Through our 220 members we represent over 50,000 Tasmanians who give their time to volunteering.

who we are

purposehelping Tasmanians experience the benefits of volunteering

our valuesbe informed be inspired be connected make a difference

budget priorities statement 2020-21 2

Volunteers are an essential part of Tasmania’s economic and social recovery and rebuilding in the wake of the global pandemic. The sustainability of many of our organisations and our communities will depend on the contributions of volunteers across areas such as sport, arts, education, emergency services, environment, health, aged care, disability support, tourism and community welfare. Without volunteers many of the programs, services and activities that Tasmanians need will not get done.The COVID-19 outbreak has had a profound impact

on volunteering in Tasmania. Ninety percent of

Tasmanian volunteer programs have been impacted.

Many organisations have had to stand down their

volunteers, with around 250,000 volunteering hours

per week being lost. This dramatic change comes

on the back of already declining volunteer numbers.

Over the past five years there has been an 11% drop

in volunteering participation in Tasmania, from 80%

in 2014 to 69% in 2019.

The Premier’s Economic Social Recovery Advisory

Council (PESRAC) Interim Report acknowledges

that the volunteer sector is carrying an especially

onerous compliance burden relating to COVID-19

Safe requirements and developing their COVID-19

Safe Plans. Many volunteer-involving organisations

do not have the resources to respond to the health

and economic crisis, and adapt to the changing

demands of volunteers.

It is vital that we invest in volunteering so we can

rebuild our economy. Volunteers make a significant

contribution to the Tasmanian economy with the

value of volunteering at $4 billion per year.

This includes the $3 billion it would cost to replace

the labour that volunteers contribute to our State,

as well as $1 billion in commercial and civic benefits

contributed through volunteering.

We also need an investment in volunteering so we

can build more connected and resilient communities.

The PESRAC Interim Report notes the increase

in demand for services supporting people with

mental health issues. We know that volunteering

and participation are key to tackling the isolation,

loneliness and anxiety that Tasmanians are likely to

continue to experience.

Tasmanians have shown themselves to be generous

volunteers. Before the COVID-19 outbreak around

297,000 of them volunteered and they were

giving over 4 hours every week to volunteering. In

response to the COVID-19 outbreak Tasmanians

once again reached out to support and care for

others through organisations and communities. In

University of Tasmania research1 people across all

age groups reported spending more time caring

for others, including children, elderly people, and

those living with disability, as well as looking out for

their neighbours. Over 1000 additional Tasmanians

responded to the call for volunteers signing up to

the emergency volunteering program EV CREW, with

2450 Tasmanians now on the database.

We welcome the recommendations in the PESRAC

Interim Report that the ‘State Government should

engage with Volunteering Tasmania to develop

support measures to enable organisations to

retain and attract volunteers’; and that ‘Workplace

Standards should make special efforts, including

by providing simple templates, to assist volunteer-

based organisations develop COVID-19 Safety

Plans’. We support other recommendations that

are important for volunteer-involving organisations,

including funding certainty through more flexible,

longer term contracts, and improved access to digital

technology. We also support the implementation

of place-based, community-led approaches to

Tasmania’s recovery so that local people can lead

transformative, inclusive change for our State.1. University of Tasmania, The Tasmania Project Report No 10, May 2020.

executive summary

budget priorities statement 2020-21 3

In this budget submission Volunteering Tasmania is requesting a strategic investment in volunteering by the State Government to enable us to:

Prepare a Tasmanian Volunteer Strategy

2021-2026 with actions that will meet the needs

of Government, volunteers, organisations and

local communities during COVID-19 recovery and

into the future;

Ensure responsibility for a statewide strategic

approach is taken at the highest level with the

appointment of a Minister with a dedicated

volunteering portfolio;

Engage with volunteers to understand their needs

so they can be re-connected with organisations

and contribute to the COVID-19 recovery; and

Support our volunteer-involving organisations to

adapt their post-COVID operations to effectively

recruit, support and manage a more flexible

volunteer workforce.

We also request a commitment from the

Tasmanian Government to continue to fund the

Equal Remuneration Order (ERO) supplement

that is currently provided to the base funding

of Volunteering Tasmania and to our member

organisations that have staff on the relevant Awards.

The removal of this supplement beyond December

2020 would be a 20% cut in services provided by

VT and represent substantial cuts to other

community-based volunteer involving organisations

providing essential services that are needed now

more than ever.

Volunteering is vital to the Tasmanian way of

life. Tasmanians need more support to be able

to volunteer in the way they choose to do it.

Organisations need more support to engage

volunteers in a safe and meaningful way that

helps them deliver their services, supports and

activities. Our State needs to invest in volunteering

to ensure that the sector can continue to make

its vital contribution to our economy, society and

cultural wellbeing through the COVID-19 recovery

and into the future. Through volunteering we can

help Tasmania’s communities become the most

connected and resilient in the country.

Dr Lisa Schimanski,

CEO, Volunteering Tasmania

We welcome the recommendations in the PESRAC Interim Report that the ‘State Government should engage with Volunteering Tasmania to develop support measures to enable organisations to retain and attract volunteers’.

Tasmanian Volunteering Strategy 2021-26

Minister

Volunteer Engagement

Project 2020 - 2021

Volunteer Management

Innovation Program 2020 - 2023

budget priorities statement 2020-21 4

investmentA C T I V I T Y

Tasmanian Volunteering Strategy 2021 - 2026Stage 1: Hold statewide consultations and develop the strategy.

Key deliverables: Evidence base of best practice volunteer

frameworks, nationally and internationally.

Comprehensive consultation across all

Tasmanian volunteer sectors including

government.

A statewide Volunteer Strategy and

Action Plan.

June 2021 – Draft Strategy with a focus on

COVID recovery Actions

Dec 2021 – Final Strategy with 5-year horizon

Stage 2: Implementation of Action Plan

Key deliverables: Immediate delivery of actions for COVID

recovery from the Volunteer Strategy.

Further funding will be sought for Years

2-5 of the Strategy.

A C T I V I T Y

Volunteer Engagement Project 2020 - 2021Hold statewide consultations through surveys,

focus groups and interviews to better understand

post-COVID volunteer needs, satisfaction and

barriers. Consolidate findings to inform the

Volunteer Strategy and subsequent Action Plan.

June 2021 – Preliminary findings and actions

with a focus on COVID recovery.

Dec 2021 – Final findings and actions

to support greater volunteer satisfaction

and engagement and support the

volunteer strategy.

Key deliverables:

Re-engagement of volunteers with

volunteering through the COVID

recovery period.

The volunteer voice within the

Volunteer Strategy with an emphasis

on volunteer satisfaction.

A C T I V I T Y

Volunteer Management Innovation Program 2020 - 2023Nov 2020 – Feb 2021 consultation with

volunteer organisations across all sectors

and co-design of the Volunteer Management

Innovation Program.

Key deliverables: Evidence base of best practice programs.

April 2021-June 2024 Implement Volunteer

Management Innovation Program.

Support innovative program design by volunteer

organisations.

Key deliverables: Year 1 would have a specific focus on

COVID recovery, subsequent years would

focus on longer-term innovation and best

practice across the sector.

Implement Volunteer Management

Innovation Program.

Evaluate program – process and outcome

evaluation including a ripple effect

methodology to capture program impact.

A strategic investment over three years by the State Government would support the recovery of the sector from COVID-19 and contribute to much needed sustainability in the sector and make sure we have enough volunteers in the right places into the future.

$600,000 over 3 years+ Continued payment of the ERO

Supplementation beyond 2020

I N V E S T M E N T

$200,000 over 2 years

Jan 2021-Dec 2021 $112,000 This includes a personnel, travel and

accommodation and other consultation costs,

print, design and promotion, and on-costs and

administrative overheads.

July 2021-June 2022 $88,000This could include grants, salaries, consultancy,

infrastructure – dependent on the priorities in

the strategy.

I N V E S T M E N T

$100,000 over 1 yearThis includes personnel, travel and

accommodation and other consultation costs

(including volunteer reimbursements), promotion,

on-costs and administrative overheads.

I N V E S T M E N T

$300,000 over 3 yearsThis includes personnel, travel and

accommodation and other consultation

costs in the co-design phase. Budget for

podcasts, webinars, digital assets and

equipment. As well as face to face training

and workshops out of hours and on weekends

as required to reach the target organisations

and volunteers. On-costs and administrative

overheads are included.

budget priorities statement 2020-21 5

Volunteering is uncertain due to COVID-19 with 90% of Tasmanian volunteer programs being impacted as many organisations had to stand down their volunteers. Around 250,000 volunteering hours a week have been lost during the COVID lockdown.

Prior to COVID-19 volunteer numbers were already declining. There was an 11% drop in volunteering participation over the past five years, from 80% in 2014 to 69% in 2019.

COVID-19 has significantly impacted the volunteering sector and the willingness and ability of people to engage in volunteering.

Many volunteer-involving organisations do not have the resources to respond to the crisis and adapt to the changing demands of volunteers.

Like many areas across our economy and society,

volunteering has been impacted by the pandemic.

Volunteering Tasmania’s survey of members in April

told us that 90% of Tasmanian volunteer programs

have been impacted by the restrictions, and many

organisations had stood down volunteers from

their programs. While many have taken innovative

approaches to adapting their operations, there

are concerns that volunteers will not return. These

organisations are anticipating a long recovery from

COVID-19 as volunteers are slow to re-engage and

they grapple with how to re-engage people safely.

This places at risk those services and programs

that help the more vulnerable members of our

community.

“I am concerned about the lack of social connection for our clients who are socially isolated and rely on the interaction with our volunteers to be connected. There is also the risk of volunteers not returning to the program when the situation changes back to the new normal.”

Recent national research by the ANU for

Volunteering Australia2 shows that 65% of all

volunteers across Australia were stood down. This

equates to over 12 million volunteering hours lost

each week nationally – an estimated 250,000

volunteering hours a week lost in Tasmania.

Tasmanians had been volunteering for less time prior

to the outbreak. There was a 3.9% decrease in the

number of hours people are volunteering each year,

from a total of 71 million hours in 2014 to around 68

million in 2019.

the challenges

2. Volunteering Australia, Research Briefing: The experience of volunteers during COVID-19, May 2020

budget priorities statement 2020-21 6

The COVID-19 outbreak is exacerbating the

volunteering challenges that have been emerging

in recent years. Tasmania’s volunteer numbers are

declining as our population ages, especially in our

regions. The State of Volunteering Report 2019

showed an 11% drop in volunteering participation

over the past five years, from 80% in 2014 to 69% in

2019. If this trend continues, and as our population

ages, we will be reliant on the support of fewer

people in the workforce who are available to

volunteer, especially in our regions.

The way people volunteer is also changing with

people being increasingly time-poor, and younger

people in particular wanting more flexibility and

smaller commitments. Tasmania’s volunteers are

also less satisfied in their volunteering with a drop

in satisfaction from 48% positive in 2014 to 16% in

20194. Volunteer-involving organisations risk being

out of step without significant changes to the way

they manage volunteers. We must amplify the voices

of volunteers in our sector and our State.

COVID-19 is having a significant impact on

Tasmania’s small volunteer-based organisations. Half

of Tasmania’s volunteers (around 100,000 people)

are in organisations that are either completely run by

volunteers or have less than five staff5. The PESRAC

Interim Report acknowledges that the volunteer

sector is carrying an especially onerous compliance

burden relating to COVID-19. These organisations

need more resources and support to comply with

state-based COVID safety plans, additional local

council requirements, legal, insurance, and risk

(including potential discrimination) considerations.

“It is hard to attract volunteers, particularly committee volunteers such presidents, secretaries, treasurers who are able to communicate with the Government demands. It is difficult for smaller organisations to find or replace the ones who have left, either because of old age, or the inability to continue taking part because of the demanding work requested by the Government.”

3. Australian Sports Foundation, https://covid.sportsfoundation.org.au

4. Volunteering Tasmania: State of Volunteering Report 2019

5. Volunteering Tasmania: State of Volunteering Report 2019

Community sport is at risk. In Tasmania 40% of volunteering activity takes place in and around sport. A recent Australian Sports Foundation Report3 estimates that one-quarter of community sporting organisations across the country are at risk of closing down due to COVID-19.

Community sport is a fundamental part of the lives of thousands of Tasmanians who spend their Saturdays as players, coaches, umpires and supporters. These sporting clubs are the life-blood of many rural and regional communities. To ensure the sustainability of these organisations we need to invest in volunteers and volunteering.

budget priorities statement 2020-21 7

Through volunteering we can address the social isolation, loneliness and anxiety that many Tasmanians are likely to experience as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

With a strategic approach and community-led action we can ensure there are enough volunteers to meet the needs of the COVID-19 recovery and for our sectors into the future.

With support and information we can ensure organisations are able to adapt their operations to manage a more flexible volunteer workforce.

Volunteering Tasmania is seeking to work in

partnership with the State Government to make

Tasmania’s communities the most resilient and

connected in Australia. We acknowledge the risk

of rising social isolation and loneliness as outlined

in the PESRAC Interim Report. Volunteering and

participation is a key strategy for addressing this risk

by making sure all Tasmanians have someone to

count on in times of need.

Volunteering has a key role to play in protecting

mental health and wellbeing by fostering

participation and connection. Our member

organisations are particularly concerned about

the potential impacts on volunteers’ mental health

and wellbeing due to extended periods of time

away from volunteering, especially older people

who experience social isolation. Analysis based

on the OECD Better Life Index data shows that

social connections are the single most important

determinant of people’s level of life satisfaction,

measured by whether people have someone to

count on in a time of need.6 A strong social network

and community can provide access to jobs, services

and other material opportunities as well as emotional

support during challenging times.7

Recent ANU research shows that volunteering is

an important protective factor against stress with

volunteers having a smaller decline in life satisfaction

during the COVID-19 outbreak than people who

did not volunteer. There is recognition around the

world that volunteerism is a fundamental resilience

strategy and a property of resilient communities.8

A strategic approach to local volunteering promotes

collective strategies for managing risk, and is

particularly important for the wellbeing of vulnerable

and marginalised groups.

the opportunities

6. Scrivens, K 2013, OECD Better Life Index: Valuing Relationships, http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/blog/valuing-relationships.htm

7. OECD Better Life Index, http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/community/

8. United Nations, State of the World’s Volunteerism Report, 2018.

budget priorities statement 2020-21 8

Tasmanian Volunteer Strategy 2020-2025 with actions that will meet the needs of Government, volunteers, organisations and local communities through the COVID-19 recovery and into the future.

Minister with a dedicated volunteering portfolio.

Volunteer Engagement Project to understand the needs of volunteers so they can be re-connected with organisations and contribute to the COVID-19 recovery.

Volunteer Management Innovation Program for volunteer-involving organisations to adapt their operations to effectively recruit, support and manage their volunteer workforce in a changing context.

Tasmanian Volunteering Strategy 2021-2026

The COVID-19 outbreak has exacerbated and

accelerated some key challenges in volunteering

in Tasmania. It is necessary to take a strategic

approach so that we can ensure all sectors and

regions have the volunteers they need to recover

and rebuild into the future.

Tasmania is one of only three states in Australia

that does not have a volunteering strategy.

The aim of the Tasmanian Volunteering Strategy

2021-26 is to achieve sustainability in volunteering

as a vital part of our way of life. The Strategy would

set out a coordinated, strategic and community-

based approach that identifies gaps, challenges,

opportunities and solutions. It would set clear

objectives for the COVID-19 recovery and the

longer term across regions, across sectors, for

communities, organisations and volunteers

themselves. It would articulate priorities for

community-led local action that can be achieved

within the five years of the Strategy.

The Strategy would build on the research conducted

for the State of Volunteering Report 2019. It would

be developed by actively engaging with the broad

range of individuals and organisations engaged in

volunteering.

the solutions

budget priorities statement 2020-21 9

Minister for Volunteering

A Minister responsible for volunteering will provide

a focus for the thousands of Tasmanians who

volunteer. They will also provide accountability within

government for implementing the actions in the

Tasmanian Volunteering Strategy.

Volunteering aligns with the Government’s Recovery

and Rebuild priorities, as well as the strategic focus

on employment, wellbeing and adult learning. By

appointing a Minister responsible for volunteering

Tasmania will join Victoria, South Australia and

Western Australia that also have Ministers.

Volunteer Engagement Project

It is vital that our volunteers feel safe and have a

positive experience of volunteering. During the

COVID-19 outbreak in Tasmania 70% of volunteers

were stood down and many organisations are

concerned they will not return. By engaging

directly with volunteers we can identify their

needs and understand in more detail the reasons

for the decline in satisfaction with participation in

volunteering in Tasmania.

Through the Volunteer Engagement Project we

will have conversations with people who currently

participate, or have previously participated, in

volunteering, and who may have stood down from

their roles during the COVID-19 outbreak. We

will reach out to volunteers across the state and

across our diverse sectors to understand more

deeply how the COVID-19 outbreak has impacted

them. We will seek to understand how to support

Tasmanians to re-engage or engage for the first time

in volunteering. We will develop a range of actions

that re-engage volunteers and rebuild our volunteer

levels. The results of this project will also inform the

development of the Tasmanian Volunteering Strategy.

Volunteer Management Innovation Program

Many of Tasmania’s volunteer-involving

organisations have had to adapt quickly to the

new demands of the response to the COVID-19

outbreak. Some have been innovative in their

approaches while others have faced challenges

due to their limited resources. Although COVID-19

has had a significant and severe negative impact

on volunteering, it has also presented a number of

opportunities for volunteer organisations to think

differently about how they engage volunteers and

the role of volunteering in their organisations.

Into the future organisations will need to meet the

demands of a younger generation of volunteers

who want more flexible arrangements, shorter

time commitments and ways to use technology.

By investing now, Tasmania’s volunteer-involving

organisations can ensure their volunteer

management practices are sustainable into

the future.

The Volunteer Management

Innovation Program will:

Support organisations to re-engage volunteers differently;

Challenge organisations to think about how volunteers can support their activities; and

Develop better use of digital technology to support volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations. For example, online op shops, out-of-hours support and connection, and use of phone and video technology.

Equal Remuneration Order

We also request a commitment from the

Tasmanian Government to continue to fund the

Equal Remuneration Order (ERO) supplement

that is currently provided to the base funding

of Volunteering Tasmania and to our member

organisations that have staff on the relevant Awards.

The removal of this supplement beyond December

2020 would be a 20% cut in services provided by

VT and represent substantial cuts to other

community-based volunteer involving organisations

providing essential services that are needed now

more than ever.

the solutions

budget priorities statement 2020-21 10

www.volunteeringtas.org.au

admin@volunteeringtas.org.au Tel: 1800 677 89575 Federal Street, North Hobart, Tasmania 7000